Ashamed By 6th Pregnancy, Disabled Woman Allegedly Drowns Her New-Born: Kerala High Court Allows Bail

The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted bail to a 33-year-old woman suffering from multiple disabilities who allegedly dropped her newborn into a bucket of water, resulting into the infant's death. The infant was her sixth child, and reportedly a consequence of unintended pregnancy.

Justice Gopinath P. released the woman on bail noting that her custodial interrogation may not be necessary in the investigation of the case. 

"Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case and considering the fact that the petitioner is stated to be suffering from multiple disability and the fact that she has been in custody from 10-12-2021 and considering the fact that her continued detention may not be necessary for the purpose of any investigation, I am opinion that the petitioner can be granted bail subject to conditions."

The case against the woman was that she along with her elder child, aged only 15, caused the death of her newborn baby by dropping the baby in a bucket of water.

Accordingly, the woman was charged under Section 302 (murder) r/w Section 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

Advocate Sijo Pathaparambil Joseph appearing for the petitioner submitted that the allegations were entirely false and that the death of the newborn was an accident.

He further argued that the petitioner suffers from multiple handicaps and has been bedridden for the past ten years.

According to the petitioner, she had requested her elder child to bathe the newborn and owing to the inexperience of her daughter, the newborn accidentally died while being bathed.

To prove that it was not a murder, the woman also pointed out that she did not make any attempt whatsoever to conceal the body of the baby in any manner.

On the other hand, Public Prosecutor Noushad K.A submitted that as per the statements recorded from the neighbours and others in the locality, the petitioner had hidden her pregnancy from everyone as she was ashamed of being pregnant with her sixth child.

Therefore, it was argued that the newborn was apparently an unwanted child and was killed deliberately at the instance of the woman. 

He added that granting bail to such a person may not be conducive considering the safety of her other children.

However, upon detecting the woman to be suffering from disabilities and that her custody was dispensable for a proper investigation into the matter, the Court released her on bail with the standard conditions. 

Case Title: Nisha Suresh v. State of Kerala

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 35

Click Here To Read/Download The Order